1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pharmaceutical and nutritional compositions and food additives, and more particularly, to a special blend of eggshell calcium and other ingredients designed to individuals with calcium necessary and/or deficiency for maintaining healthy bone and/or for treating or reducing risk of medical disorder associated with calcium deficiency and/or bone loss related symptoms such as osteoporosis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Approximately 99% of the calcium in the human body is found in the bones and teeth. Therefore, dietary calcium intake has an important impact on bone metabolism and bone health. However, dietary requirements for calcium are determined by the needs for bone development and maintenance, which vary throughout the life stage, with greater needs during the periods of rapid growth in childhood and adolescence, during pregnancy and lactation, and in later life. It is vital, nevertheless, that adequate dietary calcium is consumed at all stages of life—in early life so that the genetically programmed peak bone mass can be reached and in later adulthood so that the skeletal mass can be maintained and age-related bone loss minimized. (Cashman K. D. ‘Calcium intake, calcium bioavailability and bone health’, abstract, The British Journal of Nutrition. 2002 May; 87 Suppl 2: S169-77.) Unfortunately, there is evidence that many individuals are not consuming their recommended levels.
Calcium occurs naturally in certain foods. Dairy products such as milk and cheese, for example, are well-known sources of calcium. Some vegetable sources include seaweeds, nuts and seeds, beans and some dark green leafy vegetables also provide significant amounts of calcium, as do some fortified cereals and juices. Tofu made with calcium salts is a good source of calcium, as are canned sardines and canned salmon with edible bones.
According to the recommendation of the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), the daily calcium intake amount which is required for bone health and to maintain adequate rates of calcium retention in healthy people, ranges from 700 mg (1 to 3 years old child) to 1300 mg (teens and young pregnant and lactating women). However, people never can get sufficient calcium from their food. For instance, if teens drink 3 cups of milk daily, they can get most of their daily calcium, but they still need additional calcium (400 mg more) to get the entire 1300 mg that is necessary for strong bone growth. See Dietary supplement fact sheets: Calcium, Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. (2011)
So that to combat this insufficiency, many calcium-containing compounds and vitamin compositions have long been used in the art in various forms, either alone or as ingredients in blend of nutritional supplements and/or food and beverage. Many commercial preparations are also available, typically containing calcium carbonate or calcium phosphate. Other calcium salts have also been described for use in calcium supplements, including calcium lactate, calcium citrate and calcium gluconate.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,222 issued to Mazer et al., (December 1997) describes a calcium supplement in solid form containing glycerophosphate, vitamin D and vitamin C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,874 issued to Liebrecht and Philips (August 2000) describes calcium fortified beverage that utilizes a source of calcium from natural milk mineral, calcium lactate gluconate and mixture thereof.
US Patent. 20070264329 issued to Stotler et al (November 2007) describes calcium compositions comprising calcium carbonate and processes for making such compositions in a form of a smaller tablet.
EP 0208362 issued to the Procter & Gamble Company (January 1987) describes a dietary calcium and iron supplement.
WO 1992019251 issued to the Procter & Gamble Company (November 1992) describes nutritional mineral supplements comprising calcium citrate malate and vitamin D.
WO 1992021355 issued to the Procter & Gamble Company (December 1992) describes nutritional mineral supplements comprising calcium citrate malate, salts of manganese, copper and zinc, vitamin D and drug therapies consisting of calcitonin, editronate, diphosphonates and amino-diphosphonates.
WO 2014177876 issued to Green (November 2014) describes a calcium supplement comprises organic calcium salt.
Apart from those mentioned above, one of overlooked sources of calcium is eggshell calcium. However, some US patents and international publications disclosed methods of using eggshell powder to producing various products. Particularly, US Pat. 20140323616 issued to Yongcheng Liu et al., (October 2014) disclosed the method of manufacturing eggshell powder for use in the production of a variety of commercial plastic products. While Chinese publication No. CN 103238643 disclosed a method of bio flour calcium nutrition supplements containing eggshell powder.
Eggshell calcium has as much as 38% of calcium and low phosphorus content. (Masuda “Hen's eggshell calcium.” Clinical calcium, 2005 January; 15(1): 95-100.) Modern research found that the main component of the eggshell is biological calcium carbonate, about 90% of organic matter 3.55 to 6.45 percent, magnesium carbonate, calcium phosphate 2.5%, lysozyme-rich, bone collagen, keratin, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid and the like. And it also contains many trace elements such as zinc, copper, manganese, iron, selenium, etc., in which the harmful heavy metal elements such as lead (Pb), arsenic (As) is extremely low, less than 1 ppm. See US Pat. 20060165846 issued to Vladimir Vlad, July 2006, as well as Chinese publication No. CN 103238643, September 2014
Further, clinical studies in postmenopausal women and women with senile osteoporosis showed that eggshell powder reduces pain and osteoresorption and increases mobility and bone density or arrest its loss. The bioavailability of calcium from this source, as tested in piglets, was similar or better than that of food grade purified calcium carbonate. Clinical and experimental studies showed that eggshell powder has positive effects on bone and cartilage and that it is suitable in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. See Rovensky, J. et al., “Eggshell calcium in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.” International Journal of Clinical Pharmocology Research, 2003; 23(2-3): 83-92.
Honey is one of the oldest foods known to humans and being eaten both for its palatability and nutritive value. And the use of honey as a food additive is well known in the art. For example, US Pat. 20060165846 issued to Vladimir Vlad (July 2006) describes a nutritional supplement that combining honey with eggshell powder and crystalizing the mixture in powdered form. Also, Chinese publication No. CN 104472821 (April 2015) describes a hard honey candy and its preparation method.
Honey contains about 69% glucose and fructose that enabling it to be used as a natural sweetener that is better for your overall health than normal white sugar. Honey has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, also, it contains nutraceuticals, which are very effective for the removal of free radicals from the body. As a result, our body immunity is improved against many conditions, even potentially fatal ones like cancer or heart disease.
Honey also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. Although the type of vitamins and minerals and their quantity depends on the type of flowers used for apiculture, commonly it contains vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Many honey-based confectionary products such as edible chewy bars, chewing gums and the like, jelly-type and jam-like products are commercially available. Other applications including medicinal combination such as wound dressings and so forth are well-known too.
Lemon is a citric fruit that contains the most citric acid, with about 4 g of 100 g of fruit. It is also the finest source of potassium, calcium, iron, vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and bioflavonoids. For example, 100 g lemon contains 88% of vitamin C, 7.5% of iron and 3% of calcium as shown in the USDA National Nutrient database. Because of its sour taste and rich in vitamin C, lemon is usually used for pharmaceutical and confectionary ingredients. Specifically, lemon is used for various treatment methods as described in US Pat. 20020114730 issued to Jazzar (August 2002) and Chinese publication No. CN 105661209 (June 2016).